Friday Foreplay – Gameweek 36

April 27, 2012 ★

Gareth Bale is the surprise inclusion in this Gameweek's captain picks. The safe bet is Cisse and the fixture bet is Jelavic.

We’ve come to this, the big double Gameweek. There are eight teams with two games in Gameweek 36 and none of them provide the obvious pick and captain player. The in-form team, Newcastle, has both games away from home. The same applies to Fulham. Chelsea, who are also in great form, will likely be mentally and physically tired from their efforts against Barcelona and most of the players are rotation risks.

Stoke’s season is all but over and Liverpool has only the FA Cup final to play for. Tottenham has taken precious few points in 2012 while Bolton are the wildcard of the double Gameweek; they have all to play for but are inconsistent.

Everton is the only team that ticks all my boxes for form, fixtures, incentive (finishing above Liverpool), and history (Moyes’s Everton generally finish the season on a strong note).

Captain Picks

Jelavic: Ticking all my boxes is Everton’s only performing striker of the season. Since his first start for Everton he has scored six goals in seven games, collecting seven bonus points for his troubles. Everton’s home game is against Fulham, who haven’t travelled well this season. Their away game is less exciting, against Stoke at the Britannia. Jelavic is a a gamble and a differential, but one who I feel is worth it.

Cisse: The logical choice of the Gameweek and the one most will be going for as captain. I expect his ownership of 18.3% at the time of writing will go up steadily until the deadline. He has scored in six games in a row and has only failed to score in two starts out of ten for Newcastle. His goal scoring ratio currently stands at a ridiculous eleven goals in ten games. It’s not going to last (according to his shots per games stats), and I’m predicting that away games at Wigan and Chelsea will be more difficult than most think. It could be just me clutching at straws (since I don’t have him) and he is a strong captain’s pick.

Bale: Despite Tottenham’s woeful form one has to think they will attack against relegation strugglers Blackburn (H) and Bolton (A). This pick is a bit of a punt since Bale hasn’t scored since the end of January, although he has provided two assists. Tottenham must win both games to challenge for fourth and I’m expecting a reaction from the players.

Big Hitters

Following the discussion about Everton ticking my boxes, a selection of both Pienaar and Fellaini logically follows. Pienaar has been excellent since his return from Tottenham with three assists and two goals in his last four games. Fellaini is more of a gamble, with only a goal and assist in his last four. However, he is playing behind Jelavic and links up well with the in-form striker.

Dempsey is the automatic pick should you want to gamble on Fulham’s double fixtures. He is the highest scoring midfielder in the Fantasy game, with three goals and two assists in his last four games. The point against Dempsey is that both of Fulham’s games are away from home, where they have been vulnerable this season.

Mata has been Chelsea’s brightest spark for most of the season and has excelled in providing Chelsea’s other attackers with opportunities, having collected twelve assists for his troubles. That number could have been higher, should Torres have been in form. An argument for picking Chelsea players is their two home games in the Gameweek. My note of caution is that Chelsea will be drained from their excertions against Barcelona and Di Matteo could look to freshen things up by playing fringe players in at least on of the two games.

Petrov returned a juicy total of seventeen points last Gameweek and his owners will be happy with their gamble. On paper, the fixtures do not look enticing but both Sunderland (A) and Tottenham (H) are far from playing to the best of their abilities. Even if Bolton lose both games, Petrov could provide handsome Fantasy returns, providing an assist threat and set-piece potential.

Despite Cabaye’s heroics last Gameweek, Ben Arfa is still the more direct player and is more likely to both score and assist.

Clean Sheets

Everton is hard to break down and Hibbert provides a relatively cheap entry into the side.

Newcastle has four clean sheets in a row. Williamson is their cheapest regularly playing defender.

Despite my guess of a tired Chelsea team, I predict that they will be hard to break down. Cole is almost guaranteed full playing time, considering suspensions and injuries.

Looking away from the double fixture teams, Swansea play at home against relegated Wolves. They should keep a clean sheet and Caulker is the cheapest entry point into their defence.

Taking a Punt

Pogrebnyak was back to his scoring ways on his comeback for Fulham against Wigan last Gameweek. He’s more of a gamble than both Jelavic and Cisse but a reasonable one if you need the differentiation.

Van der Vaart is an expensive gamble and really only if you want to have both him and Bale or get a Tottenham player your opponent doesn’t have. Despite being less effective than last season, he still has nine goals and five assists to his name. He is deadly when on his game.